It's Angel Poop

That's right bitches. MILL CREEK HAS GOOD FOOD! Despite the fact that I live in the vortex that is Everett, Snohomish and Mill Creek, I rarely venture out and explore the new places that open up in these areas. Generally, when I think about dining in the Northern part of the Puget Sound I think about places like Applebee's, Olive Garden and Red Robin. All of which I hate. The Mill Creek Town Center opened the doors for such places as Azul's and Capri Ristorante Italiano, which are both mediocre at best. The huge menus and mass produced food is a giant turn off for my massive food libido. I want fresh, well thought out food, that makes me want to make sweet, sweet love to it. I want to drool, moan and make other patrons seriously uncomfortable during my dining experience.

In all the years that I've lived in the North end I have yet to discover a place that has made me say, "That was totally worth the $$". Well, my bud Hilary introduced me to Wild Vine Bistro http://www.wildvinebistro.com located on the Bothell-Everett Highway.


Her husband's band was playing so we decided to grab dinner and watch them play before we headed out for some other shenanigans. Her husband, Kelly, is the lead singer of the local band, Woodrush ( http://www.woodrushmusic.com/). Last year they released a great new album called, Change. They are well known in the their hometown and frequently play intimate sessions around the area. They are a great group of guys that never let you down in the entertainment department. I'm pretty sure I heard Kelly say that people were welcomed to come up and kiss him during his set. What a guy!

Hilary and I started our date night out with a a flight of wine and a cheese plate. We were each allowed to pick three wines for our flights. I went with the red flight and my picks included: Pinot Noir, Castle Rock 2010, Willamette Valley; Pinot Noir, Black Ridge Vintner's Reserve, CA; Malbac, Argento 2010, Mendonza, Argentina.

My flight of red wines and representing Woodrush in the background! 

At one point we had EIGHT wine glasses on our table. I should have taken a picture of that, damn it. We had no food and a whole table full of wine. And no fuck's were given. 

My favorite of the wine's was the Castle Rock Pinot Noir. The Willamette was pretty flavorless. I think the vanilla made it bland tasting. The Malbac was light and not as strong as I would have liked it to be. I had a Malbac from Argentina recently that was actually hot. It was totally delicious. I'm not sure if Malbac's are supposed to hot but I like'em strong! 

The cheese plate consisted of a Rogue Extra Sharp Cheddar and Hilary's favorite, Saint Andre Triple Cream. She proclaimed to me, "IT'S ANGEL POOP!". She loves it which made me excited to try it. I have to agree, if angel poop was a real thing, Saint Andres Triple Cream, is what it would taste like. It's really light, smooth and totally dangerous. The cheeses came accompanied with some thin crackers, honey, green apple slices and what we believe to be a logan or marion berry jam. The extra sharp white cheddar was good but it didn't inspire me to nickname it with something biblical. 

The extra sharp cheddar is in the foreground and that's the angel poop the back. 

It took us both a really long time to decided what we waned to eat. Hilary is a veteran at this joint but it still took her just as long me to decide. The menu isn't large and it ranges from fish to steak dishes. It took a lot of strength to avoid ordering the Lamp Lollipop appetizers. Why you ask? BECAUSE I'M TRYING TO WATCH MY FIGURE GOD DAMN IT. I would have ordered at least 5 things just for myself but I had to dig deep for my self-control. 

The decision for what I would devour during dinner came down to the Smoked Pork Chop with seasonal vegetables, potatoes and apple gastrique (I googled that shit, apparently it's a French sweet and sour sauce. The sour comes from vinegar and the sweet comes from the fruit), or their special, Miso Marinated Cod with  a wasabi-pistachio vinaigrette, jasmine rice, seasonal vegetables. Again, since I am TRYING TO WATCH MY GOD DAMN FIGURE, I went with the cod. The flavors sounded amazing. 

Let me tell you...

(sigh) 

It was so good, I...

I didn't want it to end. 

(heavy sigh) 

Ever. 

It was this amazing mixture of buttery rice, spicy, flaky cod and crunchy vegetables. It was the most perfect thing I have put in my mouth in a long time (I CAN HEAR YOU SNICKERING ASSHOLES). I managed to eat it slowly so I could make the experience last as long as possible. I was sad and totally full when I was done. 

Miso Marinated Cod @ Wild Vine Bistro 

Hilary debated between which slab of beef she wanted to consume. If I recall correctly it was between the Bistro Steak with a sage demi, potatoes and seasonal vegetables OR Filet Mignon with a Jack Daniels compound, roasted red potatoes and season vegetables. Can anyone guess what she got? I'm not sure how anyone can so "No" to a Jack Daniel's compound. 

Hilary's melt in your mouth Filet Mignon

Since it was already past 9pm we decided to skip dessert and head on down to the Naked City Brewery ( http://nakedcitybrewing.com/) in Greenwood. What was happening there you ask? Well...people were getting drunk and eventually there was some dick grabbing. No, it wasn't me this time. 

The event of the year was happening! Mr. Aaron from the podcast, The Sibling Rivalry (http://thesiblingrivalrypodcast.blogspot.com/), came into town all the way from Ithaca, NY. His brother, Jeremy, and co-podcaster, Stacy, live out here. They usually use Skype to do their podcasts which usually is a pain in the ass. All of their brother/sister podcasters came out to Naked City City for this big event as well. 

I've never heard of this place before. It has a giant hall feeling to it. Lots of open space to wander about and the place is split in two so you can get away from the bar if you feel like it. I was super full so I didn't eat anything here but the menu looks well-rounded. Hilary and I decided to share a beer. I let her pick since I can't do beer anymore and wasn't planning on drinking a lot of it. She grabbed a Naked City Brown Ale. It looked like the kind of beer that would make your face pucker, but instead it was smooth and totally delicious. I drank more than I had anticipated. 

I'm big into cider these days so for our next round I picked out the Tieton Apricot Cider. It was tart but so refreshing and delicious. We ended up sharing two glasses! I was too distracted with all the people and talking to remember to grab pictures of this place but I would go back there to try more of what they have on tap and maybe grab a bite to eat. 

I will however leave you with this amazing video of Jeremy pushing his drunk brother, Aaron, from The Sibling Rivalry, into his ride home. Aaron had hit a permanent stance where he looked like he was blowing in the wind. It was at that time that Jeremy decided to take his brother home. 

If you are interested in hearing these guys actually talk check them out on iTunes or you can find them on Stitcher, The Sibling Rivalry. It's all fart noises and dick jokes. 

THANK YOU FOR READING!! ~ Ashika